Picture of single persimmon on a branch - backlit

Aunt Cleo's Persimmon Pudding (c.1930s)

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Harry Davis (South Carolina) wrote to provide the following family recipe. He writes:

"Every Christmas, I think of my Aunt Cleo who has been dead for around 25 years and fondly remember her persimmon pudding. Her house at Christmas was the only place I ever had it and when she died nobody ever made it any more. One year not long after I got married, my wife and I collected a big batch of persimmons and made the recipe... and it was delicious... but that's the last time we made it. Maybe this Christmas will be a good time to try it again. Nowadays, people buy ready-made pies and even that seems like a lot of trouble. A shame.

Here's the recipe that my mom still remembers eating back in the 1930's when she was a little girl: Recipe from Cleo Isenhour Barrett, Kannapolis, North Carolina."

Aunt Cleo's Persimmon Pudding (click here for recipe with metric measurements)

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/4 pound) butter melted
2 Cups persimmon pulp
1.5 Cups sugar
1.5 Cups milk ( regular milk or canned)
3 eggs
2 Cups flour
one medium sweet potato, grated
1 Cup coconut (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bake in 300°F oven for one hour or until done. A broiler pan is a nice size to bake it in.

Aunt Cleo's Persimmon Pudding (metric measurements)

Ingredients:

113 g butter, melted
475 ml persimmon pulp
300 g sugar
360 mL milk ( regular milk or canned)
3 eggs
240 g flour
one medium sweet potato, grated
70 g coconut (optional)
5 mL baking soda
5 mL allspice
5 mL cloves
5 mL vanilla extract

Bake in 149°C oven for one hour or until done. A broiler pan is a nice size to bake it in.